Marin IJ editorial: Bidding farewell to San Rafael’s old firehouse

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John Diego, 95, sits on his old fire truck, the 1937 Anerican-LaFrance that was parked in front of Fire Station 51 during a gathering of retired and active duty firemen meeting to reminisce about their work at the old station which will be demolished and rebuilt in San Rafael, Calif. Saturday, May 6, 2017. (James Cacciatore/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

A firehouse is more than a place to work. For firefighters expected to respond 24-7, it is also a place where they live while serving their around-the-clock shifts.

So it was a special moment when the San Rafael Fire Department brought veterans back “home” to celebrate the final days of Station 51, the city’s oldest firehouse and its headquarters.

The 100-year-old building that stands at the corner of Fifth Avenue and C Street has been through several renovations over the years, but it is time for San Rafael to build a modern, earthquake-safe public safety building on its land along the south side of Fifth.

The project is a cornerstone in the city’s plans to renovate and improve its fire stations across the city.

The city firehouse on Civic Center Drive has already been torn down and will be replaced.

A similar fate awaits Station 51, which will be decommissioned next month and firefighters and paramedics will be moved to temporary quarters at city hall. The old station will be knocked down and replaced by a 45,000-square-foot center that will house both the fire and police departments.

Some of the features of the old station, such as its prominent balcony, its bell and the spiral staircase, are being incorporated into the new building. The department also plans to retain the flag pole that stands on C Street.

What won’t be missed is the tight squeeze fire apparatus had to negotiate to get in and out of the old station and the spartan living quarters.

Memories and history of a fine firefighting force aside, Station 51 could not compare with modern fire stations built across Marin over the past couple decades.

Still, it’s sad to see a landmark go.

At Saturday’s special open house, it was sad for 96-year-old John Diego, a retired captain who spent much of his career at Station 51. And for Steve Block, who for nine years worked days, nights and dawn and dusk in the communications center, taking many of those calls for help and dispatching crews to fire, floods, accidents, life-saving paramedic calls and even births.

Among many of those retirees there was, however, a sense that it’s time to replace the old station.

One retired captain, Bob Hamilton, said it’s about time the city is building a modern fire station.

“This place is a building that used to have horses in it,” he said.

It is time to build a station that matches the city’s fine department, a facility just like the old station where firefighters and paramedics work and serve around-the-clock shifts ever-ready to respond to calls for help and emergencies — large and small.